An increase in visual appearance leads to many well-known benefits. Such benefits include an increase of self-esteem and confidence, which results in further physiological and physical benefits. Because of such cascading benefits, many garments have been developed and produced to increase one's physical appearance. One such class of garments is the push-up brassiere. The push-up bra elevates and draws the breasts together. This results in outlining the breast by way of creating cleavage and gives the appearance of an increased breast size.
Though currently known push-up bras increase visual appearance, they decrease physical health. The laws of physics state that every action leads to a counteraction. The design of a typical push-up bra includes a pair of cups, a pair of shoulder straps statically fixed to each cup, and a back strap statically fixed to each strap and shoulder strap. With the strap as the primary or only option for placing force on the breasts, the upward force lifting the breast must be counteracted by the shoulder straps pulling the shoulders downward. These countervailing forces lead to increased static and dynamic pressure or load on the shoulder girdle, back, and neck. This increased load leads to the wearer developing incorrect posture and stoop. Further disadvantaged results of wearing a typical push-up bra are protruding the thoracic section of the spine backwards, bending the head forward, flattening the chest, bringing the shoulders together, rounding the back, protruding the stomach forward, and protruding the shoulder-blades from the back. Incorrect posture can lead to alterations in one's overall skeletal structure, motor apparatus disorder, headaches, and malfunctions of the respiratory, nerve, and cardiovascular systems. Stoop leads to a droopy abdomen, spine aches, weakening of the sural and hip muscles, reduced waist mobility, flaccid face skin, appearance of a second chin, etc.
To improve posture and combat stoop, orthopedic bras have been developed. These orthopedic bras bring the shoulders back and shoulder blades together, thereby decreasing the pressure on the shoulders, back, and neck. Though an orthopedic bra has physical benefits, it results in reduced breast aesthetics. One result of pulling one's shoulders back is that the appearance of cleavage is greatly reduced and one's breasts begin to point outward, rather than forward.
Based on the problems given above and other problems, there is a need to correct one's posture and prevent stoop while also accentuating and increasing one's visual appearance.